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The Oaks tennis champ is tired, but happy

Mariana Duque-Marino, 23, returns the ball to Estrella Cabeza-Candela, 26, off camera, during the singles final of the $50,000 women's Pro Circuit professional tennis at the Oaks Club in Osprey on Sunday.

Published: Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 7:04 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 7:04 p.m.

OSPREY - Mariana Duque-Marino did what she came to The Oaks Club to do, and still her job wasn't finished.

Beating Estrella Cabeza-Candela in Sunday's final of The Oaks Club $50,000 Women's Pro Circuit Event almost seemed like the easy part. After wrapping up a relatively quick 7-6 (2), 6-1 win, there was the post-match on-court interview, where she remembered to thank everybody except for the Easter Bunny. And there was the trophy and check presentation, which she gladly accepted.

Then there were photographs to be taken and autographs to be signed. Followed by more photographs. And more autographs. And still more photographs.

Duque-Marino was happy to oblige. But she was even happier once she was able to sit down and take a couple deep breaths.

"I am a little bit tired. It has been a long week," the 23-year-old player from Bogota, Colombia said as she slowly unwound. "But I think I played really good tennis, and that is the only thing I have to think.

"And now I can be tired."

She earned that right. She also earned every penny of the $7,600 that goes to the winner of the tournament, as well as those precious 70 ranking points.

Duque-Marino came to the tournament ranked No. 159 in the world, which only got her a spot in the qualifying tournament for what has been described as the toughest $50,000 tournament in the world. But she made it through the three rounds of qualifying, including a tight 3-set match in the first round, to get into the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament.

Then she made the most out of her opportunity by winning five consecutive matches in the main draw to claim the championship, beating Cabeza-Candela in the final in a matchup of clay court specialists.

"I just tried to think every day about the match I was going to play," Duque-Marino said. "I didn't think that I would win the tournament before it began. I was just playing every day, every match."

But once she got through qualifying, the former junior French Open finalist felt at home on the clay and didn't drop a set in her five main draw matches on her way to the title.

Cabeza-Candela also felt at home. A fan favorite, she drew inspiration all week from friends who cheered her on. She also didn't drop a set on her way to the final but lost the first set Sunday after leading 6-5. After losing the tiebreaker, little went right in the second set.

"I didn't feel very strong out there," said Cabeza-Candela, who picked up $4,053 and 50 ranking points and begins play this week in the $795,707 Family Circle Cup tournament in Charleston, S.C. "She played better."

Duque-Marino's feat on clay gives her an edge on Cabeza-Candela in their last three meetings. Cabeza-Candela beat Duque-Marino during a qualifying match at Wimbedon that went three sets. Duque-Marino returned the favor last month, wining in three sets at the $235,000 event in Bogota.

Duque-Marino admits she was worn down Saturday after getting through to the final, but she gave herself a little pep talk.

"I thought, 'It is only one more match. You have to go for it,' " she said.

On a day celebrated for a resurrection, Duque-Marino took another step Sunday toward resurrecting her tennis career Sunday and will move closer to her career-high ranking of No. 94, which she reached in 2010.

"I think every year I try to be more aggressive," Duque-Marino said. "And I have been working on my serve and think I am improving. I think that is why I played like I did this week."

The only blip was the game where she was serving for the set at 5-4 and lost four straight points. She then lost the next game at love to give Cabeza-Candela a 6-5 lead. But Duque-Marino held her serve to force the tiebreaker and then raced to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker to seize control.

In the doubles final, the American team of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears were never in trouble, rolling past Veronica Cepede Royg and Ines Ferrer-Suarez 6-1, 6-3.

Kop-Jones and Spears, seeded second here, then changed clothes quickly and jumped in a car to head for Charleston, where they are seeded second in doubles in the Family Circle Cup.

<p><em>OSPREY</em> - Mariana Duque-Marino did what she came to The Oaks Club to do, and still her job wasn't finished.</p><p>Beating Estrella Cabeza-Candela in Sunday's final of The Oaks Club $50,000 Women's Pro Circuit Event almost seemed like the easy part. After wrapping up a relatively quick 7-6 (2), 6-1 win, there was the post-match on-court interview, where she remembered to thank everybody except for the Easter Bunny. And there was the trophy and check presentation, which she gladly accepted.</p><p>Then there were photographs to be taken and autographs to be signed. Followed by more photographs. And more autographs. And still more photographs.</p><p>Duque-Marino was happy to oblige. But she was even happier once she was able to sit down and take a couple deep breaths.</p><p>"I am a little bit tired. It has been a long week," the 23-year-old player from Bogota, Colombia said as she slowly unwound. "But I think I played really good tennis, and that is the only thing I have to think.</p><p>"And now I can be tired."</p><p>She earned that right. She also earned every penny of the $7,600 that goes to the winner of the tournament, as well as those precious 70 ranking points.</p><p>Duque-Marino came to the tournament ranked No. 159 in the world, which only got her a spot in the qualifying tournament for what has been described as the toughest $50,000 tournament in the world. But she made it through the three rounds of qualifying, including a tight 3-set match in the first round, to get into the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament.</p><p>Then she made the most out of her opportunity by winning five consecutive matches in the main draw to claim the championship, beating Cabeza-Candela in the final in a matchup of clay court specialists.</p><p>"I just tried to think every day about the match I was going to play," Duque-Marino said. "I didn't think that I would win the tournament before it began. I was just playing every day, every match."</p><p>But once she got through qualifying, the former junior French Open finalist felt at home on the clay and didn't drop a set in her five main draw matches on her way to the title.</p><p>Cabeza-Candela also felt at home. A fan favorite, she drew inspiration all week from friends who cheered her on. She also didn't drop a set on her way to the final but lost the first set Sunday after leading 6-5. After losing the tiebreaker, little went right in the second set.</p><p>"I didn't feel very strong out there," said Cabeza-Candela, who picked up $4,053 and 50 ranking points and begins play this week in the $795,707 Family Circle Cup tournament in Charleston, S.C. "She played better."</p><p>Duque-Marino's feat on clay gives her an edge on Cabeza-Candela in their last three meetings. Cabeza-Candela beat Duque-Marino during a qualifying match at Wimbedon that went three sets. Duque-Marino returned the favor last month, wining in three sets at the $235,000 event in Bogota.</p><p>Duque-Marino admits she was worn down Saturday after getting through to the final, but she gave herself a little pep talk.</p><p>"I thought, 'It is only one more match. You have to go for it,' " she said.</p><p>On a day celebrated for a resurrection, Duque-Marino took another step Sunday toward resurrecting her tennis career Sunday and will move closer to her career-high ranking of No. 94, which she reached in 2010.</p><p>"I think every year I try to be more aggressive," Duque-Marino said. "And I have been working on my serve and think I am improving. I think that is why I played like I did this week."</p><p>The only blip was the game where she was serving for the set at 5-4 and lost four straight points. She then lost the next game at love to give Cabeza-Candela a 6-5 lead. But Duque-Marino held her serve to force the tiebreaker and then raced to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker to seize control.</p><p>In the doubles final, the American team of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears were never in trouble, rolling past Veronica Cepede Royg and Ines Ferrer-Suarez 6-1, 6-3.</p><p>Kop-Jones and Spears, seeded second here, then changed clothes quickly and jumped in a car to head for Charleston, where they are seeded second in doubles in the Family Circle Cup.</p>